Wildlife Promise » Kristin Johnsonhttp://blog.nwf.org
The National Wildlife Federation's blogFri, 31 Jul 2015 19:00:24 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3Snowy Owl Sighting in Downtown DChttp://blog.nwf.org/2014/01/snowy-owl-sighting-in-downtown-dc/
http://blog.nwf.org/2014/01/snowy-owl-sighting-in-downtown-dc/#commentsFri, 24 Jan 2014 23:44:07 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=90959Today brought another rare sighting of a snowy owl in downtown Washington, D.C., this time on the Washington Post building at the corner of 15th and L St. N.W. (Any votes for renaming it the Owl Post?)

The news sparked a few resident National Wildlife Federation bird nerds (myself included) to go track it down with our own eyes. We were not disappointed. Unfortunately, none of us had a camera with us other than our phones, but here are a few shots of the beautiful creature:

Snowy owls don’t typically winter as far south as Washington, D.C., but this year brought an increase in sightings throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The anomaly is called an “irruption,” when species alter their range.

The snowy owl attracted a good number of people to stop and take in the strange sight, including my favorite, a woman who walked up laughing that she didn’t think the building we were staring at could be that exciting.

Initially, National Wildlife Federation Naturalist David Mizejewski, said the owl was a female. “You can tell by the black speckling in her plumage. Males are almost pure white (and a bit smaller too).” However, NWF Senior Scientist Doug Inkley suggested the owl could in fact be an immature male, which Mizejewski agreed could be “totally true.”

Snowy Owl Fun Facts from Ranger Rick

Most owls sleep during the day and are active at night. But not snowies! They are out and about during the day, especially at dawn and dusk.

A snowy’s favorite food is a small, hamster-like rodent called a lemming. In years when there are lots of lemmings in an area, you’ll find plenty of snowy owls there, too. But when lemming numbers fall, so does the snowy owl population.

A snowy spends much of the day silently perched on a high lookout, keeping an eye—and ear—out for prey. When it spots a meal, it swoops down, making a short, low flight, and nabs it with its sharp talons.

A snowy will attack any predators, including wolves, that threaten its ground nest.

During hot weather, snowy owls stay cool by panting and spreading out their wings.

How Can You Spot a Snowy Owl?

During this winter’s current snowy owl “irruption,” one of the best places to hear about the latest sightings is to search Twitter for things like the #snowyowl hashtag. Avid birders are also really good about reporting sightings using apps like eBird. Also check out Project SNOWstorm.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2014/01/snowy-owl-sighting-in-downtown-dc/feed/415 Adorable Wildlife Puppies for National Puppy Dayhttp://blog.nwf.org/2012/03/adorable-wildlife-puppies-for-national-puppy-day/
http://blog.nwf.org/2012/03/adorable-wildlife-puppies-for-national-puppy-day/#commentsWed, 21 Mar 2012 20:32:06 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=49723Ask anyone who knows me, and they’ll tell you that two of my favorite things are: 1) wildlife and 2) puppies. When I’m not at work helping protect the first, I can most often be found hanging out with my rescue puppy, Allister. So when I happened across the fact that March 23rd is National Puppy Day – smack dab in the middle of National Wildlife Week – I knew this blog needed to happen.

Here is my celebration oftwo great things about this world, wildlife and puppies, combined into one. Commence: Wildlife puppies!

Seth Priebatsch, “Chief Ninja” of the location-based app developer SCVNGR, put up a $10,000 donation to the National Wildlife Federation as a reward for his audience solving a group challenge.

They did!

Thank you so much Seth and SCVNGR, from all of National Wildlife Federation.

SCVNGR Celebrating Launch of LevelUp

The donation to NWF was made to celebrate the launch of their new online deal app, LevelUp, described by Mashable here:

“Location-based mobile game startup SCVNGR is releasing Thursday a second mobile application for iPhone and Android called LevelUp. This release is meant to serve as a pilot in the Boston and Philadelphia areas and test a new approach to merchant deals that better drive customer loyalty.

“LevelUp plays in the same sandbox as Groupon, LivingSocial and the myriad of other daily deals sites, but the product attempts to reengineer the formula with game mechanisms and location — two areas SCVNGR knows well — to benefit both the consumer and the merchant.”

“We are moving the dune boundary out about 5 to 8 feet to help the native grasses and habitat for nesting shore birds, turtles and a special species–the Perdido Key beach mouse,” she said.

In walking the area with the park host, Eliza heard about their need for help regaining more habitat.

Photo taken March 10, 2011 on Perdido Key, near NWF's dune restoration project.

“They are very grateful to be able to accomplish the re-posting and re-protecting of the dunes in a day,” she said. “The project usually takes them many weeks with their limited staff. This is really important, especially with nesting season just around the corner.”

Eliza also snapped a photo of a BP cleanup station (see right), still at work dredging and removing oil from the beach.

“We’re all very excited to help Perdido Key,” Eliza said. “This park and its neighbor parks needs our help. As do the wildlife.”

Saturday Update – 2:30 p.m.

From Eliza: “Forty-five volunteers–including 30 from Pensacola’s Naval Air Station–have rolled up their sleeves today to extend and rope off sand dunes along Perdido Key. More than 1 mile of posting was done by lunch. By 2 p.m., the next mile was almost done. The rangers are shocked be everyone’s dedication. Our long distance winners are a mother and daughter from Orlando (7 hours away). The dunes are almost ready for the incoming wave of shore birds and turtles. Lots of smiling faces doing hard work. That is what NWF does best!”

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2011/03/dune-restoration-to-help-shorebirds-and-perdido-key-beach-mouse/feed/3Does the Frog-Mouthed Turtle Exist?http://blog.nwf.org/2010/12/does-the-frog-mouthed-turtle-exist/
http://blog.nwf.org/2010/12/does-the-frog-mouthed-turtle-exist/#commentsTue, 14 Dec 2010 21:13:48 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/wildlifepromise/?p=9826Is the frog-mouthed turtle an interesting species you haven’t heard of? Or a fictional animal that only exists in Jellystone Park?

This part amphibian, part reptile creature is featured in the new movie, Yogi Bear, as an almost extinct species that inhabits Yogi Bear’s home, Jellystone Park. When the corrupt Mayor Brown threatens to shut down Jellystone and sell the land, Yogi Bear and his pal, Boo Boo, team up to save the turtle–and the park.

So is the frog-mouthed turtle real?

Sorry Yogi, but the frog-mouthed turtle is as fictional as Jellystone Park.

There actually is such a thing as a turtle frog. Native to Australia, this species is one of the only head-first burrowing frogs. Another characteristic is that their young skip the tadpole stage. They develop entirely within their egg and emerge as frogs.

Turtle or No, Protecting Habitat Does Protect Wildlife

Yogi Bear does however have the right idea when it comes to making sure habitat for endangered species is taken care of. The Endangered Species Act was enacted by Congress in 1973, and requires the federal government to protect:

Endangered Species – species likely to become extinct throughout all or a large portion of their range.

Threatened Species – species that are likely to become endangered in the near future.

Critical habitat – habitat vital to the survival of endangered or threatened species.

To help protect and connect more habitat, National Wildlife Federation’s state affiliate, Florida Wildlife Federation, is working with a coalition of conservation groups and small and large farmers and ranchers in Eastern Collier County on the Florida Panther Protection Program.

As part of National Wildlife Federation’s efforts to limit carbon emissions and move America to a clean energy future, we have been working on changing Alaska’s regulations toallow individuals and businesses to generate their own renewable power and receive a fair price for it from the utilities.

The utilities actively opposed this idea, but it gives people an incentive and opportunity to make a difference in their own home or business space.

It is one example of how NWF can help reduce carbon emissions at the state level despite the federal government’s refusal to take action, and is part of our effort to help the state produce 50 percent of its electricity with renewable sources by 2025.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2010/08/alaskan-renewable-power/feed/1Sea Turtles Dying in BP “Burn Boxes” – First-Hand Account from Boat Captainhttp://blog.nwf.org/2010/06/sea-turtles-dying-in-bp-burn-boxes-firsthand-account-from-shrimp-boat-captain/
http://blog.nwf.org/2010/06/sea-turtles-dying-in-bp-burn-boxes-firsthand-account-from-shrimp-boat-captain/#commentsWed, 23 Jun 2010 19:10:43 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/wildlifepromise/2010/06/sea-turtles-dying-in-bp-burn-boxes-firsthand-account-from-shrimp-boat-captain/On June 17, the Los Angeles Times reported in “Death by fire in the gulf” that an effort to burn oil from the surface of the Gulf is also torching all kinds of sea life.

Catherine Craig of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project posted the following interview with a shrimp boat captain who attempted to rescue sea turtles from the these “burn boxes.” BP sent him away.

“They just drag a boom between two shrimp boats and whatever’s caught between the two boats, they circle it up and catch it on fire,” says Mike Ellis in the below interview. “Once the turtles are in there they can’t get out.”

For all the latest news on how the oil spill is impacting the Gulf Coast’s wildlife & to learn how you can help, visit NWF.org/OilSpill.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2010/06/sea-turtles-dying-in-bp-burn-boxes-firsthand-account-from-shrimp-boat-captain/feed/1Helping Wildlife With Gracehttp://blog.nwf.org/2010/06/helping-wildlife-with-grace/
http://blog.nwf.org/2010/06/helping-wildlife-with-grace/#commentsFri, 11 Jun 2010 05:34:51 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/wildlifepromise/2010/06/helping-wildlife-with-grace/As the bleak news continues to flow from the oil spill disaster in the Gulf, there is one thing that is keeping spirits a little bit lighter: the amazing outpouring of support from people–especially children–across the country who are doing something to help wildlife.

We were honored Thursday by a visit from one such 10-year-old named Grace, who lives close enough to the National Wildlife Federation’s headquarters to stop by with a special delivery.

Grace had raised more than $1,400 this past Saturday by setting up a lemonade stand in her driveway.

After feeling helpless watching news reports and reading the stories about the wildlife in the Gulf, Grace enlisted her parents in setting up a stand to give away lemonade, apple juice, coffee, doughnuts, cookies, or snacks to anyone who made a minimum $5 donation to National Wildlife Federation.

With some outreach through her neighborhood and school listservs, as well as her mom’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, Grace’s little lemonade stand attracted people from all over the area. In addition to those who biked and walked over to deliver their donations, Grace’s classmates brought their piggybanks and personal savings to donate. Even the principal from Grace’s school and his family came to donate.

Grace delivered the donations in a shoebox decorated with photos of Gulf wildlife, including a picture of a sea turtle hatchling she had the chance to help out in person (watch the video below for the story).